Whilst there is ample literature on the governance and management of partnerships in welfare, particularly within mixed-economy states, much of it has focused on the governance and organisational capacity issues. This paper draws on that body of literature and evidence from health and social care partnerships, and attempts to develop the theoretical and empirical work in the area to address the issue of citizens' social rights, asking whether collaborative governance and partnerships between agencies are the solution to promoting citizens' social participation, or another state-driven method of indirectly enhancing social exclusion.